Diamanti in the Rough – Saviour of the Strugglers

Two brilliant end-of-the-match strikes highlighted Alessandro Diamanti’s performance against Roma this past weekend. Both smacked the frame of the goal and left Roman supporters humbled and thankful that they were able to escape Bologna with a point from their 3-3 draw.

These strikes were not isolated incidents. Albeit a relatively peripheral figure, Diamanti has been curling left-footed screamers toward the goal for years. He is an exciting and extremely talented playmaker with an excellent shot and even better passing capabilities.

But at the age of 29 Diamanti – whose name translates literally to ‘diamonds’ in English – is already nearing the end of his playing career. The word ‘already’ is appropriate in this case because it seems that Diamanti has only been around for a short while. His somewhat unlucky and uneventful CV has kept him under the radar; playing for lesser sides and experiencing limited amounts of success despite his superior performances.

After impressing with his hometown club, Prato, in Serie B, Diamanti began his Serie A career less than six years ago, in 2007 with Livorno. His new club struggled that year and was relegated, allowing him to flourish once again – scoring 20 goals in 39 matches the following season to help Livorno earn promotion back to the top flight.

Diamanti’s excellent scoring form as an attacking midfielder caught the attention of Italian legend, Gianfranco Zola, who was managing West Ham in the English Premiership at that time. The English club bought Diamanti and he went on to become one of their best players – coming in second place for ‘Hammer of the Year’ behind Scott Parker in the 2009-10 season, as voted by the West Ham supporters.

Nevertheless, West Ham did not do so well in the standings that season, and after Zola was sacked Diamanti returned to Italy with Brescia, where once again his club was relegated to Serie B within one season. It would seem that Diamanti either brings bad luck to the teams he plays for, or is an unfortunate player that somehow only attracts interest from clubs that are doomed to be unsuccessful.

A new chapter in the player’s career began when Bologna snatched him away from Brescia in 2011. Since joining the blue and red kit, Diamanti has once again proven his worth. With eight goals and six assists in the 2011-12 campaign for Bologna, the Italian national coach, Cesare Prandelli took notice of the starlet.

Diamanti was what many critics noted as a surprise inclusion for the Italian international squad at the 2012 European Cup, perhaps because he did not play for any of the big squads in the country – like Juventus or Milan. Many of those same so-called experts lamented Prandelli’s decision to use the player as many times as he did.

Nonetheless, Diamanti held his own. He played well, taking many important shots and executing interesting passes to create goal-scoring opportunities. He thus showed his worth under extreme pressure on the international stage – highlighted by scoring the winning penalty in a 4-2 shootout victory against England in the European Cup Quarter-Final match.

So far, Bologna has had an inconsistent season in this year’s Serie A campaign. They are in the relegation-battle zone and risk much if they do not begin winning more games. They have still managed to defeat Napoli three times though and are undefeated against Roma, securing four points in their home-and-away encounters against that side for the league.

Much of Bologna’s positivity has been a result of Diamanti’s play and strong leadership. He continues to be a major force in top flight football, yet he continues to be underrated and forced to ply his trade for struggling teams.

Now it remains to be seen whether any big clubs will see the ‘diamond’ in the rough – so to speak – before it’s too late. Will anyone finally give Diamanti the chance he deserves and recruit him to play along other superstars, where he will surely excel, rather than continually having to play saviour for struggling teams?

Follow Riccardo Lo Monaco on Twitter: @kicknut